alexmtn
Member
When deciding how far to go with LNT in any given situation, the standard I use in considering a course of action is to ask myself how I'd feel if I were another hiker trying to enjoy the outdoors, coming upon, stumbling on, stepping in, pitching a tent on, [etc.] my handiwork. If my assessment is that the reaction would be decidedly negative, I rule out that course of action and consider another.
Clearly I would react *very* negatively were I to experience the encounters related in this thread - I'll spare you my own similarly disgusting episodes - and I would also find a range of less egregious examples to be objectionable. In light of the standard laid out above, I'm therefore willing and prepared to be very non-lazy in dealing with my waste.
One of my backpacking friends is blessed with what he refers to as a 'psychological stopper' with 3 days of holding power. For those not as fortunately endowed, some points I recommend keeping in mind:
* Totally apart from the benefits of being out of sight and smell, poop needs to be buried at a bio-active 4"-8", depth if it is to decompose in a mountain environment at more than a glacial pace. Out of the soil, a pile of crap and toilet paper will pretty much remain a pile of crap and toilet paper for a long time.
* The 200 foot guideline (bury your poop 200 feet away from your campsite, surface water and trails) may seem excessive -- but perhaps less so when you consider the logic behind it: the greater the area over which you're selecting and digging your cat hole, the less likely you are to hit on someone else's. Particularly in as heavily used a place as the WMNF, I find the logic to be compelling.
* Above tree line or on frozen ground, burial is not an option.
* Snow is in fact not a burial medium - in the spring the snow will melt and your pile of crap and toilet paper will thaw out and be on display in its full splendor.
* As was related earlier -- if you're unwilling to carry out, consider *staying* out of conditions/situations in which burying your poop won't be possible.
Lastly, as dug did, I think it's a great idea to help people appreciate just how 'crappy' it really is to leave piles of crap around for others to experience -- whether it's post-offense, pre-potential offense, or around the dinner table.
Clearly I would react *very* negatively were I to experience the encounters related in this thread - I'll spare you my own similarly disgusting episodes - and I would also find a range of less egregious examples to be objectionable. In light of the standard laid out above, I'm therefore willing and prepared to be very non-lazy in dealing with my waste.
One of my backpacking friends is blessed with what he refers to as a 'psychological stopper' with 3 days of holding power. For those not as fortunately endowed, some points I recommend keeping in mind:
* Totally apart from the benefits of being out of sight and smell, poop needs to be buried at a bio-active 4"-8", depth if it is to decompose in a mountain environment at more than a glacial pace. Out of the soil, a pile of crap and toilet paper will pretty much remain a pile of crap and toilet paper for a long time.
* The 200 foot guideline (bury your poop 200 feet away from your campsite, surface water and trails) may seem excessive -- but perhaps less so when you consider the logic behind it: the greater the area over which you're selecting and digging your cat hole, the less likely you are to hit on someone else's. Particularly in as heavily used a place as the WMNF, I find the logic to be compelling.
* Above tree line or on frozen ground, burial is not an option.
* Snow is in fact not a burial medium - in the spring the snow will melt and your pile of crap and toilet paper will thaw out and be on display in its full splendor.
* As was related earlier -- if you're unwilling to carry out, consider *staying* out of conditions/situations in which burying your poop won't be possible.
Lastly, as dug did, I think it's a great idea to help people appreciate just how 'crappy' it really is to leave piles of crap around for others to experience -- whether it's post-offense, pre-potential offense, or around the dinner table.
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